Bangura Leads Vipers Past 66ers

Alpha Bangua scored 19 points off the bench to lead the way as the Rio
Grande Valley Vipers evened up their record on their four game road
swing with an 89-80 victory over the Tulsa 66ers Thursday morning at
the SpiritBank Events Center in Bixby, OK. The Vipers evened up their
overall record at 5-5 with the win and are now 2-0 over Tulsa this
season.

The Vipers once again got off to a quick start outscoring Tulsa 28-17
in the 1st quarter. Quin Humphrey and Smush Parker led the Vipers in
the early moments. Parker had 10 of his 17 in the first, while
Humphrey chipped in with seven points in the first act. The Vipers
went into the halftime intermission leading 47-33.

The third quarter woes continued as the Vipers were outscored 25-17 in
the third frame. The Vipers led by as many as 16 in the third quarter,
but Tulsa would rally. A Jeremy Kelly free-throw with 3:53 remaining
in the period capped off a 20-6 Tulsa run that brought them to within
one point of the lead, the closest that they would get to the lead in
the game. Bangura's nine fourth quarter points led the way for the
Vipers in the final period, outscoring Tulsa 25-22 to earn the victory.

Kendal Dartez added 17 points and eight rebounds and Trent Strickland
chipped in with 15 and nine rebounds in the win. Jared Jordan in
limited action added two assists in his Vipers debut. Ronald Dupree
led the scoring load for Tulsa with 25 points while Keith Clark scored
15 points and hauled in nine rebounds in the losing effort for Tulsa.

The Vipers continue their four game road swing on Friday night in Des
Moines, IA as they face the Iowa Energy for the first time this
season. Tip-off at the Wells Fargo Arena is set for 7:00 pm